Dispatcher: “Act quickly to stop the delta variable”

Sweden should postpone easing and toughening recommendations. Measures should be sufficient to combat the spread of a potentially infectious virus of perhaps 60% more, from which vaccines may only partially protect.

The principle I suggest is to act aggressively, automatically and quickly when neighboring countries are affected, like a modern smoke alarm that alerts other nearby smoke alarms. We can call it the principle of fire alarm.

burn it In the next room or at your neighbor, you must assume that he will soon burn with you, too. In fact, we are already seeing an outbreak of the delta variant in Sweden. The virus would never have surprised Sweden if we had followed this principle. We have always received clear and early warnings from our neighboring countries about what could happen in our country, for example:

● At the end of January 2020, the first case was found in Finland. According to the principle of the fire alarm, we can already assume that the infection has arrived or will soon reach Sweden as well.

● When doctors from Italy in March 2020 appealed to us to protect each other and stop the infection in time, it was a signal that we had to take very seriously right away. In our interconnected Europe, Italy is also a neighboring country. But we Swedes took it all in stride instead.

● In the fall, we saw other countries experience a “second wave” at the same time that Sweden was relatively calm. We know today that we would have done better if we had acted immediately and increased our protection rather than waiting and praising ourselves for how great we are.

some months Later Sweden also got the second wave. We should have followed the principle of the fire alarm rather than the principle of “wait and see if it will be the same with us”.

In principle, we should view most countries in Europe as our neighbours. The movement of people across borders is so great that the worst booms cut through all corners.

What differs between countries is how countries fight the virus and to some extent also how borders are guarded during a crisis. Not all types of virus spread everywhere, but the most contagious do, unfortunately, possibly including the delta variant.

Sweden works However, it behaved in a completely opposite way compared to the principle of a fire alarm. Our response was slow and weak compared to our closest neighbours.

We waited until we moved with the virus in our arms, apparently in the hope that we in Sweden would be affected more mildly. Maybe we have a healthier lifestyle? No, COVID-19 does not work that way.

On the contrary, the fact that Sweden has been hit hard, for example in terms of the number of deaths compared to our closest neighbours, is perhaps not so surprising. We will now be able to estimate fewer dead and wounded later, if we act as efficiently and quickly as our fastest neighbours. PhD theses will be written about this in the future, rest assured.

Swedish Troubles It’s often about the danger of being rude and harsh. But if you act quickly, you will also have the privilege of repenting, as our neighbors have done, for example, in part on the issue of school closures. On the other hand, if a country is behaving too slowly, it has to stand its ground.

The UK has a very high natural immunity in the community and a very high degree of vaccination. However, the state is now reporting a rampant spread of the new delta variant. It is likely that we and other countries will be affected in a similar way, despite the fact that vaccines are going well.

Maybe we’ll get a massive increase in the new virus this summer or we’ll get a break until this fall. But the faster we move, the more moderate measures we need to take to control infections in Sweden.

I see for myself Looking forward to going to the theme parks this summer. Maybe we can. But in general, infection control, like Britain, must be taken seriously if we are to take the risk of a more contagious mutation seriously enough.

And this should be done proactively, automatically, not after weeks of whining. A delta variant means a new situation, unfortunately a worse situation, and it must be fulfilled accordingly.

The smoke alarm principle works with COVID-19 and its variants, we can be pretty sure of that after a year and a half of the pandemic. Countries are nothing more than walls of paper, for the virus that has become the biggest acute crisis of our generation.

to work quickly It is a way to save lives and health. If we act in a timely manner, our actions do not have to be harsh and prolonged. That’s why it’s the most economical thing we can do.

The warning from the UK is unequivocal. They represent. Do we act? The principle of the fire alarm states that this must be done.